Colonial Williamsburg Needs $600 Million

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is hoping to raise $600 million to fund a major overhaul, ArtsBeat reported. Part of the cash will be used to renovate and expand the art museums of Colonial Williamsburg─a cornerstone of this recreation of historical Williamsburg, which is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the state of Virginia.

“By preserving the artifacts, stories, and very setting of the Revolution, Colonial Williamsburg offers modern Americans a direct link to the founding generation—whose extraordinary words and deeds challenge us to embrace our own roles in shaping our country’s future,” said Colonial Williamsburg president Mitchell B. Reiss, quoted in the Virginia Gazette.

Forty million are to be dedicated to the museums, which include the Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum. The project involves a new main entrance, and a new, 8,000 square feet exhibition space─the first expansion since the museums opened in 1985. According to the Virginia Gazette, $10.8 million have already been secured towards this goal.

Other highlights of the plan include the construction of a new archaeology lab. Teacher training schemes and the production of updated classroom material complete the overhaul effort, which is one of the foundation’s most significant in recent years.

“These investments by our supporters will ensure that this Revolutionary City will continue to inform and inspire many generations of Americans to come,” Colonial Williamsburg trustee Steven L. Miller told the local newspaper.


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